Geothermal energy is great way to provide heating and cooling for homes in a way that can lead to significant energy savings. The concept is relatively simple: because the ground deep underneath a home maintains a relatively constant temperature year-round, it is possible to extract warmth from it in the winter and dump extra heat there in the summer. The drawback, however, is that the costs can be pretty staggering for a homeowner and installation often involves ripping out large pieces of the yard to install the necessary underground piping.
However, Google parent company Alphabet has just launched a new company out of their “Moonshot Factory” called Dandelion that seeks to bring geothermal heating and cooling to a wider customer base. Dandelion says it can install a system using just a few small underground pipes in a few days with minimal yard disturbance. And though the $20,000 price tag isn’t much cheaper than current offerings, Dandelion is making it available to homeowners on a monthly payment plan with no upfront costs (and will try to achieve lower prices in the future). Though currently offered in Upstate New York, if successful, the company no doubt will be eyeing expansion into other markets.
More information is available here.